Pseudomystus
Pseudomystus is a genus of catfishes of the family Bagridae.
Taxonomy
Pseudomystus was originally described by Jayaram in 1968 as a subgenus to Leiocassis. It was elevated to genus rank in 1991 by Mo. There is evidence to indicate that these two genera are not even closely related. There is the possibility that Pseudomystus as currently understood may not be monophyletic.P. carnosus, P. fumosus and P. moeschii are hypothesized to form a monophyletic group.
However, Pseudomystus has been treated in some recent literature as a synonym of Leiocassis.
Species
There are currently 20 described species in this genus:Pseudomystus bomboides Kottelat, 2000Pseudomystus breviceps Pseudomystus flavipinnis H. H. Ng & Rachmatika, 1999Pseudomystus fumosus H. H. Ng & K. K. P. Lim, 2005Pseudomystus funebris H. H. Ng, 2010Pseudomystus heokhuii K. K. P. Lim & H. H. Ng, 2008Pseudomystus inornatus Pseudomystus leiacanthus Pseudomystus mahakamensis Pseudomystus moeschii Pseudomystus myersi Pseudomystus nuchalis H. H. Ng, 2025Pseudomystus robustus Pseudomystus rugosus Pseudomystus siamensis Pseudomystus sobrinus H. H. Ng & Freyhof, 2005Pseudomystus stenogrammus H. H. Ng & Siebert, 2005Pseudomystus stenomus Pseudomystus tuberosus H. H. Ng & H. H. Tan, 2024- ''Pseudomystus vaillanti''
Distribution and habitat
Pseudomystus species inhabit swamps, streams and rivers throughout Southeast Asia. The genus is distributed in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, on Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, with only P. siamensis and P. bomboides known from north of the Thai Peninsula. The greatest number of species is found in Borneo, followed by Sumatra.Description
Pseudomystus species are small- to mid-sized bagrid catfishes.Many Pseudomystus species are beautiful fishes with colour patterns of striking contrast, with light bands and/or blotches on a dark background on the body and fins, with the pattern reversed on some fins in some species. This coloration leads them to be known as bumblebee catfish in the aquarium trade. Some species were described to have a uniform colour have a banded colouration when juvenile. P. stenogrammus and P. mahakamensis lack any blotches or bands on the body, instead possessing a clearly defined midlateral stripe on a dark background; this stripe is thinner in P. stenogrammus.
All Pseudomystus can be sexed in the typical bagrid fashion and the males' genital papilla is even more distinct than in many other bagrids.